With
by smallish
Summary: OneShot. The day before Naruto left for training with Jiraiya, he went into Sasuke's room. Slight NaruSasu.


**A/N:** Just something random that I thought up... I think it turned out alright. I'm basing this on the manga, for the record, and scans at that so forgive any off translations. Not intended as Naru/Sasu, but it ended up having elements of it, mostly at the end, but you can easily write it off as friendship.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't want Naruto, I want Itachi, but Kishimoto-sama won't let me have him.

**With**

Naruto's fingers trembled, hovering just over the brass knob. He took in a breath, told himself to just _do it_, and opened the door. He stepped inside the forbidden room, closing the door softly behind him. His eyes roamed the room, and found it so bizarrely _Sasuke_, but at the same time _not_. Across the room, next to a table, was a TV and Naruto couldn't imagine the raven sitting in front of it, watching whatever was on. At the same time, on another table near the door he had just passed through scrolls and books were left haphazardly.

Naruto took another step into the room, gaining confidence. Scrolls adorned the walls, and, upon closer inspection, he realized they were haiku and that most of them were done by Sasuke's relatives. He wondered if any of them were done by his mother or father.

_Or,_ Naruto's stomach churned at the thought, _Itachi._

Another couple steps and he was at Sasuke's bed, the blue cover wrinkled, as if it had been quickly made. He tried to imagine Sasuke asleep in the bed, but he couldn't. His fingers touched the fabric and found that it was nothing special, just the usual linens that everyone used.

Turning his attention to other things he wandered over to the table next to the TV. It stood before a window and he could see Sasuke gazing out at the streets of Konoha when he was bored.

His eyes flickered down to the plain table, and something caught his eye. He picked up the square black object and stared.

A picture of Team 7. He knew that all four of them had received one, but he had never thought that Sasuke would actually go as far as to frame it. Naruto's own was just pinned to a tack board. Looking closer he saw that it looked somewhat worn, and Naruto realized that it hadn't been framed immediately, but rather sat unattended on some surface until Sasuke re-evaluated the worth of that photograph. He flipped the stand out and set the picture upright. He stared at the image of the raven for a long moment. It was a bit dated, back when Sakura had long hair. Naruto thought back to when it was taken. Before the Land of Waves.

Before Sasuke and Naruto had started to actually care about each other.

He turned back around and his eyes swept over the room. To his side was a tiny balcony, but his interest wasn't drawn to that. The rest of the room was uninteresting. How very like Sasuke to be practical. Only a few distractions from training and revenge.

He closed his eyes and tried to imagine Sasuke, like in the picture, but only saw him, without a headband, red eyes gazing down at him coolly.

_"You've become my closest friend."_

Naruto sat on the edge of Sasuke's bed.

Maybe if Naruto had been less stubborn and tried to pry through Sasuke's cold, thick layers sooner, they could have become friends sooner, and maybe _that_ would have saved him.

_"The mission's over. I'm going home." _

Sasuke's usual words.

You idiot. There's nothing here for you to go home to.

Naruto flopped back on the bed, staring up at the light. He turned to his side and sighed.

Sasuke's scent lingered on the bed, exactly how Naruto imagined it would be. It was clear and refreshing, tinged only slightly by sweat.

(Naruto imagined there would be days Sasuke would be so exhausted from training that he would simply collapse on his bed, not even taking a shower. Anything to forget.)

Naruto hesitated, then slipped under the covers, and Sasuke's scent was stronger. He breathed deeply and buried his face in Sasuke's pillow. He should have tried harder to be friends. He should have taken him to Ichiraku or something—just to be nice.

(Naruto briefly smiled, thinking of how Sasuke would insist that he didn't _want_ to go, but would allow for Naruto to drag him off anyway.)

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek, convincing himself that his eyes were most certainly _not_ more moist than usual.

He thought of when Sasuke protected him from Haku's _senbon_.

_"How should I know...? My body just... moved on its own... Fool!" _

That had to be when they first realized they were friends, and Naruto regretted that after Sasuke turned out to be okay, he hadn't even tried to get along with the raven.

(_No,_ a cruel part of his mind insisted, _he's a snake now, not a raven._)

Naruto's fist curled into the blankets and took a ragged breath, and his face was _not_ streaked in hot tears, it _wasn't_.

Naruto wished that he had bothered to learn about Sasuke's past before Itachi. Then he would have understood him better.

What had he been thinking? Back during Gaara it had been a red flag...

_"I've already lost everything once before... I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again." _

He had only asked Kakashi recently about Sasuke, but the only new thing he had learned was that Sasuke had moved out of the Uchiha District and into this dreary apartment that was likely only a shadow of his old home. Kakashi had noticed the look in Naruto's eye and mumbled the address.

Naruto's fist was still twisted around the sheets, and when he closed his eyes he could pretend that it was Sasuke's shirt and his stubborn bastard of a best friend was right next to him.

(He really knew, though, that even if by some miracle Sasuke let someone sleepalongside him, he wouldn't let them get remotely close to cuddling.)

He took another breath—almost afraid that Sasuke's smell would vanish suddenly.

Orochimaru might own his body.

Itachi might own his soul.

But Naruto would be damned if he didn't own Sasuke's heart.


End file.
